Hose reel assemblies for storing garden hoses are known in the art. A hose reel that serves in either a wall mounted or caddy mounted position is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,737. A caddy mounted hose reel assembly with a low center of gravity is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,627. Other variations of garden hose reel assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,587,626, 4,137,939, and 4,512,361.
Hose reel assemblies have proven to be popular and satisfactory mechanisms for garden hose storage. With the advent of synthetic resins, a number of hose reel designs have been proposed, including designs disclosed in the above cited patents, to take advantage of the light weight and resistance to corrosion offered by synthetic resins.
A number of problems remain, however, in the incorporation of synthetic resins in to hose reel designs. As garden hose is taken up by hose reels, for instance, considerable stress is imposed upon the outside of the reel including the spokes and rim of the reel sides. This stress may present itself even when only a portion of the hose has been wound on to the reel because the hose often tends to be taken up at the outside edges of the hose support surface. Hose reel sides made of synthetic resins, in particular, accordingly have a tendency to bend outwardly, causing interference with the frame members supporting the hose reel.
Other problems presented by synthetic resin based hose reels include maintaining light weight and ease of assembly in the design, while keeping the overall structure as durable as possible.